Coin-operated mechanism.



Paulina Aug. 29, I899.

L. P. VALI QUET.

CUlN OPERATED MECHANISM.

(Application filed Oct. 28, 1898.)

(110 Model.)

ATTORNEY Q 4 Sheets-$heet l.

WITNESSES:

N0. 63l,9l|. Patented Aug. 29, [899.

L. P. VALIQUET.

COIN OPERATED MECHANISM.

- (Application filed Oct. 28, 1898.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2,

w NESSES: X INVENTOR & I ATTORNEY 1m: nomus P211015 50.. mm. wunmfmm uc:

- PatentedAug j. 29, I899, L. P. vALmuET. I COIN OPERATED MECHANISM.

(Application filed Oct. 28, 189B.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

{No Model.)

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Y Patented Aug. 29, I899,

' L. P. VALHIUET.

COIN OPERATED MECHANISM.

(Application filed Oct. 28, 189B.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4;

(No Model.)

Rh \-l INVENTOR am w ATTORNEY UNITED STATE PATENT ome LOUIS P. VALIQUET,OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE UNIVERSAL TALKING MACHINE COMPANY,OF NEW YORK.

COIN-OPERATED MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 631,911, dated August29, 1899.

Application filed October 2 8, 1 89 8.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS P. VALIQUET, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of New York city, New York county,

New York State, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCoin-Operated Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to coin-operated devices generally, and is morespecifically designed to produce acoin-operated mechanism forautomatically operating what is known as the gramophone.

My invention is an improvement on the apparatus heretofore constructedhaving a worm-screw or other slow-acting return-feed, and'is designed toproduce a mechanism giving a quicker return of the needle-carrying armto its initial position and greater certainty of operation, while at thesame time reducing the number of parts, and consequently simplifying andcheapening the construction.

The preferred form of apparatus embodying my inventionis illustrated inthe accompanying four sheets of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a planview of the apparatus with the top of the case containing the sameremoved and a portion of the needle-carrying arm broken away. Fig. 2 isa vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial section onlines 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the needlecarrying arm in its initialposition and the mechanism at rest. Fig. 4 is a similar section showingthe gramophone in operation, the parts being in the position occupied bythem just before the return mechanism is tripped into operation. Fig. 5shows a modified form operating-plunger 23. iger is preferably pivotedon the lever 25 by means of the'pivoted joint 24, and the spring.

The gramophone has the ordinary form of Serial no. 694,824. (No modeL)base 4, containing rotating mechanism, (not shown,)on which the rotatingtable 5 is mounted. A spring-motor ,of any desirable form (not shown) islocated in the addition 6 to said gramophone-base. This motor is woundup by means of bevel-gears 7, a shaft 8, and winding-handle 9, thelatter being outside of the casing 1. On the rotating table is theordinary gramophone-record 10, clamped .thereon by a thumb-screw 5" inthe usual manner, so as to rotate therewith. On this record rests thereproducing-needle 12 of the sound-box 11, carried by the swingingarm-13,

said arm being mounted by a universal joint 14 on the pivot-bracket 15,fastened to the gramophone-base, all in the usual and wellcylindricalcoin-guide 22 at right angles to said chute. In line with thiscoin-guide is the coin-pusher 19, normally held back by the plate-spring20 or equivalent elastic device. On the end of this pusher and slidingin the coin-guide is the cup-shaped end 21 of the said coin-pusher, andin line with the axis ofthis cup and the coin-guide is the Thisoperating-plun- 26 normally holds said plunger at right angles to saidlever 25. This lever 25 is pivoted on the bearings 27 in the bottom ofthe case 1 and controlled by the spring 28, so that its upperhook-shaped end 25 is against the swinging arm 13 and under the samewhen the said arm is in its initial position against the stop 31. Thepivoted catch 29, mounted on the stop 31 by the pivotal joint 30 andcontrolled by the back spring '32, overhangs and engages with theswinging arm 13 when the latter is supported in its initial position 25in the manner above described.

The lever 25 engages with a horizontallyswinging brake-lever 37, pivotedon the end of the bracket 15 and carrying the brakeshoe 38, whichengages the rotating table 5 when the spring-controlled lever 25 is inthe position shown in Fig. 3 to hold up the needlecarrying arm 13. Thisengagement is preferably secured by passing the lever 25 through a slot42 in the said brake-lever.

A modified construction is shown in Fig. 5, in which the brake-lever 3'7isremoved, and a lever 37 a is pivoted on the gramophone-base, one endof the lever carrying the brake-shoe 38, while the other end is struckby the spring-controlled lever 25 (upon its return) to apply the brake.In this case the guide 39 is alsodispensed with.

34 is a retaining device in the form of adog, pivoted at 36 and having anose 35 arranged to slide over and grasp the brake-lever 37, therebyretaining the same and the lever 25 in a position out from under theneedlecarrying arm.

33 is an adjustable screw mounted in the tail of the dog 34 and locatedin the line of travel of the needle-carrying arm 13 as the same is fedalong by the sound-record during the operation of the machine.

41 is a spring tending to hold the dog 34 down in engagement with thebrake-lever 3'7, and 40-is a lug on the dog 34, projecting down in thepath of the brake-lever 37 and so located with reference to the pivot 36of said dog that when the brake-lever strikes the lug it positivelypulls the nose of the dog 35 down behind the brake-lever, thus assistingthe action of the spring 41.

39is a guide for the brake-lever.

The operation of my invention'is as follows: The cover 2 of the casingbeing closed and the parts of the mechanism being in the position shownin Figs. 1 and 3, the operator first winds up the spring-motor by meansof the handle 9 and then drops a coin down the coin-chute 18. He thenforces in the coin-pusher 19, which drives the coin along the coin-guide22 against the operating-plunger 23. This forces the spring-controlledlever 25 to the right, Figs. 3 and4, the operating-plunger 23 turning onits pivot, so as to remain in line owing to the expansion of the spring26. As the spring-controlled lever 25 goes over, it carries with it thebrake-lever 37 until the latter has passed under the nose 35 on theretainingdog 34, which immediately slips down behind said brake-lever.11 en the operator removes pressure from the coin-pusher 19, the spring20 forces the same out and withdraws its cupshaped end 21 from the coin,which latter drops into the box. The operating-plunger 23 being therebyreleased is drawn upward by the spring 26 from the dotted position shownin Fig. 4 to the position shown in full lines at right angles to thelever 25. When the hook-shaped supporting end 25 is forced over to theright, as above described, the swinging arm 13 is prevented fromtraveling with it by the pivoted spring-catch 29. When the hook-shapedlever has passed out from under the swinging arm, the latter is free todrop down, and the reproducing-needle 12 engages with the record 10. Thebrake-shoe 38 having been withdrawn from the rotating table 5 by thefirst motion of the lever 25,

said table and record carried thereby are alreadyin rotation by the timethe reproducingneedle comes down on the record and the gramophone beginsto operate, reproducing sound, which is delivered through the tube 17.As the needle and sound-box are fed across the record by the action ofthe same in the well-known way, the swinging arm 13 travels toward theadjustable screw 33, mounted in the tail of thedog- 34. Said screw is soadjusted that the arm will-strike it when-the needle has reached theendof the record. A slightfurther movement of the swinging arm depressesthe rear portion of dog 34 against the spring 41 and lifts the nose 35of the dog 3.4 from behind the brake-lever 37, as shown in Fig. 6. .Thespring 28 immediately acts to force said lever 25 back into the positionshown in Fig. 3. On the way thehook-shaped end25 picks up'the needle-arm13 and carlries it back under the spring-catch 29 and holds it there inits initial position ready for a repetition of the operation. The samemovem ent of the lever 25'has forced the brake-shoe up against therotating table 5 and stops the rotation of the same. It has also readjusted the operating-plunger 23 in line with the cup-shaped end 21 of thecoin-pusher 19 ready for the operation of another coin.

, It is evident that in the absence of a coin no motion of thecoin-pusher 19 will-have any effect on the mechanism, because theplunger will simply pass into the interior of the cup and the lever 25will not be moved. Also it is evident thatif the coin-pusher 19'beforced in and withdrawn with great rapidity, so that under ordinarycircumstances the brake-lever 37 might be forced back again by thespring 28 before the retaining device could recover from the shock andthe violent throwing up of the nose 35 of the dog; and respond under theaction of spring 41 toseize andretain said brake-lever, the very fact ofthe rapid movement of the parts thus described will carry thebrake-lever beyond its normal travel up against the lug 40 and sopositively pull the dog 34 down into operative position and insure theretention of said brake-lever and connected parts in the position shownin Fig. 4 until tripped by the needle-carrying arm at the end of acomplete operation of the gramophone.

The advantages of my invention result from the certainty of operationunder all conditions, from the simplicity and cheapness of the apparatusemployed ,and from'the rapidity of the return-feed'aotion, which ispractically instantaneous. It is also extremely convenient ofmanipulation as by throwing up the pivoted catch 29 into the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 the needle-carryin g arm can be liftedout of engagement with the hook 25 and swung to one side for changingthe records, putting in a new needle, and making other adjustments.

It is evident that various changes could be madein the details of theapparatus described without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention, so long as the general relative arrangement of parts shown inthe drawings and the general principle of operation set forth in thespecification are preserved. WVeights might be substituted for springsand other forms of moving parts might be substituted for the levers, thecoin might throw the parts into operation through other agencies thanthat of external pressure on the coinpusher of the particularkinddescribed, &c.; but all these variations I consider within the generalscope of my invention.

While certain features of the above-described apparatus are shown andherein claimed in connection with coin operated mechanism, it is evidentthat certain of such features could be employed without coin-actuatedconnections.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto protect by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a coin-operated device thecombina tion of a swinging'arm, a stop and catch for said arm, aspring-controlled lever which normally holds the arm against the stopunder the catch, and coin-controlled means for pushing said lever outfrom under said arm, whereby said arm drops away from the catch,substantially as described.

2. In a coin-operated device the combination of a swinging arm, a stopand catch for said arm, a spring-controlled. lever which normally holdsthe arm against the stop and under the catch, and coin-controlled meansfor pushing said lever out from under said arm, whereby said arm dropsaway from the catch, together with a retaining device which holds saidlever out from under the arm, substantially as described.

3. In a coin-operated device the combination of a swinging arm, a stopand catch for said arm, a spring-controlled lever which normally holdsthe arm against the stop and under the catch, and coin-controlled meansfor pushing said lever out from under said arm, whereby said arm dropsaway from the catch, together with a retaining device which holds saidlever out from under the arm, an automatic feed mechanism with which theswinging arm engages when dropped down, and a trip for the retainingdevice located in the path of the arm, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a gramophone, a lever which returns thereproducing-needle to its initial position after the operation of thegram ophone and supports said needle in such position out of engagementwith the record, and coin-operated means for forcing the lever out fromunder the needle-carrying arm, sub stantially as described.

5. In combination with a gramophone, a le ver which returns thereproducing-needle to its initial position after the operation of thegramophone and supports said needle in such position out of engagementwith the record, and coin-operated means for forcing the lever out fromunder the needle-carrying arm, together with mechanism for forcing thelever back under and into engagement with the needle-carrying arm,substantially as described.

6. In combination with a gramophone, a lever which returns thereproducing-needle to its initial position after the operation of thegramophone and supports said needle in such position out of engagementwith the record, and a spring which normally holds said lever under andin engagement with the needlecarrying arm, together with coin-operatedmeans for forcing said spring-controlled lever out from under saidneedle-carrying arm, substantially as described.

'7. In combination with a gramophone, a lever which returns thereproducing-needle to its initial position after the operation of thegramophone and supports said needle in such position out of engagementwith the record, and a spring which normally holds said lever under andin engagement with the needlecarrying arm, together with coin-operatedmeans for forcing said spring-controlled lever out from under saidneedle-carrying arm, and a retaining device for holding saidspringcontrolled lever out of engagement with the needle carrying arm,substantially as described.

8. In combination with a gramophone, a lever which returns thereproducing-needle to its initial position after the operation of thegramophone and supports said needle in such position out of engagementwith the record, and a spring which normally holds said lever under andin engagement with the needlecarrying arm, together with coin operatedmeans for forcing said spring-controlled lever out from under saidneedle-carrying arm, a retaining device for holding saidspring-controlled lever out of engagement with the needle-carrying arm,and a trip for said retaining device located in the path of theneedlecarrying arm, substantially as described.

Signed by me at New York city, New York, this 15th day of October, 1898.

LOUIS P. VALIQUET.

\Vitnesses:

LILIAN FOSTER, A. PARKER-SMITH.

